Branson Dumped $1 Billion in Stock on Space Hype, Suit Says (2)

Richard Branson exploited bogus hype about the capabilities of Virgin Galactic Holdings Inc.'s spacecraft to make $1 billion worth of illegal insider stock sales, an unsealed lawsuit says.

A shareholder sued the British industrialist, saying he spent years misleading the public about the readiness of Virgin Galactic’s flagship space tourism vessel, the Unity, then dumped “massive portions of his stock” across 2020 and 2021. The sales included $300 million in August 2021, before the public learned his own trip to space almost ended in disaster, according to the lawsuit, which also targets other board members.

“Despite the near misses, loss ...